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Iranian-Swedish Tensions Rise over Trial of 1988 Mass Executions Jailer

A courtroom sketch of Hamid Nouri sitting with his lawyer during his trial in Stockholm District Court on November 23, 2021 [Anders Humlebo/TT News Agency via Reuters]
A courtroom sketch of Hamid Nouri sitting with his lawyer during his trial in Stockholm District Court on November 23, 2021 [Anders Humlebo/TT News Agency via Reuters]
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Iranian-Swedish Tensions Rise over Trial of 1988 Mass Executions Jailer

A courtroom sketch of Hamid Nouri sitting with his lawyer during his trial in Stockholm District Court on November 23, 2021 [Anders Humlebo/TT News Agency via Reuters]
A courtroom sketch of Hamid Nouri sitting with his lawyer during his trial in Stockholm District Court on November 23, 2021 [Anders Humlebo/TT News Agency via Reuters]

Swedish-Iranian national Ahmad Reza Jalali is to be executed on May 21 at the latest, Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency said on Wednesday, citing sources.

Jalali, a disaster medicine doctor and researcher, was arrested in 2016 on an academic visit to Iran and sentenced to death on charges of espionage for Israel's Mossad.

The report comes as Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian prosecution official arrested by Swedish authorities in 2019, faces a life sentence in Sweden on charges of international war crimes and human rights abuses.

Nouri is accused of playing a leading role in the killing of political prisoners executed on government orders at the Gohardasht prison in Karaj, Iran, in 1988.

Swedish prosecutors and plaintiffs have requested life imprisonment for Nouri for his role in the prison purges.

In the 89th session of Nouri’s trial, plaintiffs’ lawyers said Nouri played “an active role” in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in Iranian prisons and requested the court hand out the maximum sentence of life imprisonment for him.

On Sunday evening, Tehran summoned Sweden's ambassador over what it considered “baseless and false allegations” made against Nouri.

Iran's Secretary of High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi described Sweden’s trial of Nouri as “unlawful and unfair.”

Gharibabadi said Nouri's trial is a sham that violates the principles of justice and human rights.

Gharibabadi pointed out that “Nouri has been arrested based on false accusations and his detention is regarded as forced disappearance since his family was kept unaware of the arrest.”

There was no comment from the Swedish government on the Iranian statements.

In 2019, Nouri was arrested upon his arrival in Sweden over alleged human rights abuses.

Swedish prosecutors have invoked the principle of “universal jurisdiction” for serious crimes to bring the case against Nouri to trial.

Last week, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a message on Twitter, advised its country’s citizens against non-essential travel to Iran “due to the security situation.”

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World

Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
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Trump to Attend Ceremony to Witness Return of US Personnel Killed in Syria

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media - Reuters

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will attend a ceremony on Wednesday to honor US personnel killed in Syria over the weekend by a suspected ISIS attacker.

Trump and his wife will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to be present for what the Air Force calls the "dignified transfer" of the bodies from overseas back into the United States in the presence of their families. The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT), Reuters reported.

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday in the central Syrian town of Palmyra by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces before being shot dead, according to the U.S. military.

Trump called the incident terrible, vowed retaliation and referred to the three that were slain as "great patriots."

Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ceremonies at Dover during times of war or conflict that result in the deaths of US troops. Flag-draped transfer cases are brought off of a military plane with the bodies of the fallen and put with precision in an awaiting vehicle as officials and family members watch and often weep.

World

Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
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Putin Says Russia will Achieve War Goals, Keep Expanding 'Buffer Zone'

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Kazbek Kokov, head of the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2025. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine by diplomatic or military means, and would seek to expand a "security buffer zone" there.

"First, the goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved. We would prefer to do this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy," Putin said.

"If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means. The task of creating and expanding a security buffer zone will also be consistently addressed."

Of the regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed as its own territory, it currently controls Crimea, around 90% of the Donbas region and 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Reuters reported.

In addition, Russia holds some territory in the adjoining regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv. Putin's comments signalled that Moscow would seek further gains on some of these fronts.

With the war at a key juncture as US President Donald Trump pushes hard for a quick peace agreement, Putin said Russia was advancing on all fronts.

But his defense minister, Andrei Belousov, acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were trying to take back control of the northeastern town of Kupiansk - an effort he said was not succeeding.

Ukraine said on Wednesday it had taken 90% of the town, which Russia said it had captured in November.

Putin said people in Europe were being indoctrinated with fears of a war with Russia, and accused their leaders of whipping up hysteria.

"I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately," he said.

Putin has said Russia is not seeking war with Europe, but is ready for war if that is Europe's choice.

World

Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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Pakistan Says ‘Hostile Countries’ behind False Online Claims Linking it to Australia Shootings

A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A man waves Pakistan's flag as he along with others gather in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan’s information minister said Wednesday that his country has been the victim of a coordinated online disinformation campaign following the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach.

Attaullah Tarar accused “hostile countries,” including India, of spreading false claims that one of the two attackers was a Pakistani national.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, Tara said Pakistan's leadership strongly condemned Sunday's attack, which killed 15 people in an antisemitic shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah, The AP news reported.

The minister said misleading information began circulating almost immediately after the attack, with social media posts falsely identifying one of the suspects as a Pakistani national named Naveed Akram. He said the claims spread rapidly across digital platforms and were repeated by some media outlets without verification.

Tarar said subsequent findings, including confirmation by Indian police, established that one of the attackers, Sajid Akram, was from India, while his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram — who was also involved — was born in Australia.

The minister said the misinformation appeared to stem from a case of mistaken identity, as a Pakistani man living in Sydney shares the same name as one of the two suspects.

“How do we restore the situation to where it was before the Bondi Beach attack?” Tarar asked, adding that the Pakistani man — also named Naveed Akram — had released a video denying any involvement and urging the public not to associate him with the attack.

Tara said the Pakistani man was “a victim of a malicious and organized campaign” and that the disinformation effort originated in India.

There was no immediate response from Indian officials.

Tarar called on media outlets that published the false reports to issue apologies and said Pakistan had not yet decided whether to pursue legal action.

Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed rivals, have a long history of strained relations and have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, most of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. The two sides came close to war in May before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire.